AFRICA

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Desperately needed aid for millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa is under threat as the deadly coronavirus pandemic sweeps a continent already facing a volley of crises. In some cases social distancing measures and border closures are preventing workers from distributing aid. In others, funding is …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Few generals would choose to fight a war on two fronts, against a foe that is nearly invisible and at times seems to have the terrifying ability to surface anywhere. Yet this is exactly the mission that Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe has taken upon himself, and …

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP |  In Burundi, the delayed arrival of coronavirus was attributed to “God’s protection”. Now that the country has three cases, authorities again see divine intervention at work and little reason to interrupt everyday life. The ruling party has sought to reassure Burundians they need not worry about …

Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa | The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has released its audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, showing strong and consistent growth, with total comprehensive income of $324.2 million. The results, which reflected a net income of $313.3 million, 14.3 percent increase over the 2018 …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The World Bank warned Thursday that sub-Saharan Africa could slip into its first recession in a quarter of century because of the coronavirus pandemic on the world’s most impoverished continent. “We project that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African Union officials said Thursday the continent is struggling to compete with rich countries for testing kits and other equipment necessary to curb the spread of the coronavirus. “We need aid for testing equipment,” Kwesi Quartey, the deputy chair of the African Union Commission, told …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  A year after one of Africa’s longest serving leaders, Omar al-Bashir, was ousted from power in the face of mass street protests, Sudan is still reeling from daunting crises including deep economic woes. Bashir was overthrown on April 11, 2019 by the military, which was responding …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Since his ouster last year, Sudan’s veteran leader Omar al-Bashir has been detained and convicted of corruption, becoming the Middle East’s latest fallen strongman. The 76-year-old, held in Khartoum’s Kober prison where many of his opponents were detained during his rule, had ruthlessly crushed dissent after …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  A recap of key events in Sudan one year after mass protests toppled its president Omar al-Bashir from power, ending three decades of iron-fisted rule. – Bashir rule ends – On April 11, 2019, four months after mass protests sparked by a hike in bread prices …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Haggard and dishevelled from the stress of making ends meet, day labourers line up in Cairo for food parcels after losing their jobs to the sharp downturn caused by the coronavirus. Sayed Shaaban, 42, who used to work in a cafe, said for him the pandemic …